Across the globe the threat of COVID -19 pandemic has not yet come down to a safer level and before people could give a sigh of relief another threat is facing us. The serious conflicts between Ukraine, once part of USSR (Russia) and Russia have created dark clouds over Europe. It may be a precursor to change of new global power axis or new global order.
The major war now going on between Russia on one hand and Ukraine on the other being supported by European powers besides the US has created a dangerous situation. The Russians' intention was clear and forthright and their sole aim was to destroy more than 1600 military bases in that country which otherwise would be used by the US in case Ukraine became part of NATO. Russia captured most of the cities in Ukraine and destroyed most of the bases, yet the adamant stance of the irresponsible and immature President of Ukraine coupled with supply of strategic military weapons from the US and other European countries has now pushed the war farther into threats of activating nuclear missiles by the Russians. This serious issue could have been solved through a few rounds of peace-talk. But, the unfortunate fact is the US and other NATO countries instead of reducing the intention, have added fuel to the fire.
According many media reports if you go back, on the recent history the USA in the name of the guardian of freedom and free speech, and to maintain their supremacy poked its nose into many countries' internal affairs using the pretext of ''democracy and human rights violations '' At the fag end of failed mission US left the countries in the lurch - stranded leaving their economy in shambles. The recent example is Afghanistan which was taken over by Taliban. In the past the Bush and Obama administration destroyed Iraq and Libya respectively using the same excuses. Considering Ukraine's proximity to Russia, the western powers are anxious to make Ukraine part of NATO. They know very well this will anger Russia, hence they are instigating the present puppet regime.
Ukraine, having regained its independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, has been keen to join the European club and the NATO. According to Russia the latter political stance taken by Ukraine and the US becoming a military alley will be a threat to Russia's military and internal security. The US has been eying on Ukraine, the most populous and industrialized country which is geographically adjacent to Russia. It is easy for the US politicians to counter the hegemony of Russia in this part.
Russia, when moving over to Ukraine to destroy the bases at the start of war in February 2022, already warned the civilians to vacate the cities to avoid death and injuries. Caught in the war-torn zone are international college students including roughly 18000 to 20000 Indian students and most of them are studying medicine in Ukraine. The serious conflicts have created a refugee crisis and the students and the Ukrainians are fleeing to safer places. Indian Govt. already advised the students to reach the closest border country so that they could be picked up by the Indian diplomats for safe journey back home from the unexpected war zone. As of today roughly 12000 students were safely brought back home from Ukraine.
India under the PM Motiji took the right decision and along with China and other countries had abstained from voting on the draft resolution that “deplored” Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine.” This has angered the Ukrainian government and also the US.
In the war-torn country, the fleeing refugees face all kinds of problems because of mass exodus. The treatment meted out to the fleeing non-white people by the bordering countries at check-points has angered the Indians, Africans and Arabs. The international media journalists went one step further and openly presented their biased reports with an undercurrent racial mentality by sympathizing with the white refugees overlooking the plight of non-whites. Non-white people were allowed to cross the border only after white people.
google.com/Ukraine+using+Indian+students |
Ukraine representative Sergiy Kyslytsya opindia.com |
On February 25, 2022 speaking at the UNSC emergence session, the Ukrainian Ambassador to United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya issued a subtle threat by saying countries that abstained from voting should have thought before making a decision. It is a blatant threat to India and other countries for abstaining from voting against Russia at UNSC. Without naming India, and other abstaining countries, the undiplomatic Ukrainian Ambassador said, “It is exactly the safety of your nationals in Ukraine that you should be the first to vote to stop the war to save your nationals in Ukraine, and not to think that you should vote or not vote.”
Obviously, it was a warning to the Indian government on the floor of an International forum by the arrogant Ukrainian diplomat that 'if India does not support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, it will use Indian students as hostages and then it would be tough for them to evacuate the stranded students in the war-torn country'.
Ukraine map. bbc.com |
India under the PM Motiji took the right decision. Despite indirect threats from the US, India abstained from voting against Russia because ''our country's interests are more important than others''. This would provide a apace for the warring countries to initiate peace talk. Violence and hostilities will cause a grave situation. What the US and other European countries are doing is they are adding fuel to the towering inferno. The subtle reality is these countries can sell more arms to Ukraine and do good business.
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As far as Ukraine is concerned it has a lousy relationship with India, particularly in the matter of Kashmir. Further Ukraine supplied powerful tanks to Pakistan, which is haven for terrorists. On several diplomatic issues at the UN it has been consistently against India.
Bernard Shah, en.wikiquote.org |
Above image: Racism had its roots in Europe, particularly in Britain. Britain had a large number of slave traders in the 18th and early 19th centuries and they made huge fortune out of human suffering, death and metal agony. Irish satirist George Bernard Shaw said about the British (to whom racism is part of their legacy): "There is nothing so bad or s or so good that you will not find Englishmen doing it; but y will never find an Englishman in the wrong. He does everything principle.........He fights you on patriotic principles; he robs you on business principles; he enslaves you on imperial principles; he bullies you on many principles; he supports his king on loyal principles and cuts off his king's head on republican principles. His watchword is always duty."
The Indians during the colonial days under the British were accustomed to racial disparity and discrimination. On a visit to India along with his wife in 1933, Bernard Shaw became angry upon seeing a sign on a Yacht club near Taj Hotel, Mumbai that said, "Reserved exclusively for the white people only." He remarked angrily, "It was nothing short of snobbery to have a club exclusively reserved for the use of the white people in a land of colored people"......................................
In this on-going war in Europe, racism has raised its ugly head. In the refugee crisis, when non-white people from Asia and Africa were escaping to reach the bordering countries, the official and international media covering the refugees exposed a deep-rooted racist mentality of European policy which ''excludes and discriminates against non-European ethnicities,'' Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement on Wednesday.
Racism was on the mind of security personnel in Ukraine and Poland. As for European politicians and journalists, their attitude toward non-whites was quite appalling in a crisis situation. No empathy and no compassion, what matter is your race and skin color. That racism and and disparity of treatment based on color, and religion against the fleeing non-white refugees is quite disgusting and ought to be condemned in the international forum. This type of colonial hangover still persists in Modern Europe.
Euro-Med Monitor's team viewed testimonies and videos showing that the Polish border guards follow discriminatory policy against non-Europeans, by impeding the crossing of Africans while allowing Ukrainians to cross and providing them with food and first aid. ''Black and brown refugees are once again being turned away in Europe amid Ukraine migrant crisis'', according to USA today report.
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Indians, like Arabs and Africans residing in Ukraine, faced differential treatment and difficulties when fleeing the country, as they were not allowed to board the trains, they openly gave preference to lily-white Ukrainians over non-whites; Ukrainians were allowed to cross first. What is quite annoying is that the racist mentality permeated at the higher official level. For example Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said: "These people are intelligent, they are educated people.... This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists."
No doubt the European journalism has now stooped to the lowest level. Often most reporters used a racist discourse, impressing on the international TV audience that Ukrainian refugees are ''civilized, unlike refugees from the Middle East and North Africa' 'unjustifiably classifying them as terrorists and uncivilized.
The American major net works did not lag behind, for instance, Charlie D' Agata, CBS's foreign correspondent, said on TV: "This isn't a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades... This is a relatively civilized, relatively European --- I have to choose those words carefully, too --- city, where you wouldn't expect that or hope that it's going to happen."
The BBC hosted the former Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor, David Sakvarelidze, who said: "It's very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed, children being killed every day by [Russian President] Putin's missiles, helicopters, and rockets."
All these statements by the European reporters expose the hidden facts with respect to race and ethnic differentiations. Why this double standard when dealing with humanitarian issues by the European countries? This blatant skin and hair color differentiation indicates erosion of human value and dignity when dealing with non-white population in a crisis situation in a white country. This colonial hangover is not yet dead.
https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2015/04/bernard-shaws-indian-visit-1933-and-his.html
https://m.timesofindia.com/edit-page/black-and-white/articleshow/1640425.cms
https://www.opindia.com/2022/02/ukraine-ambassador-students-leverage-india-unsc-vote-russia/